In the manufacturing of heavy articles, particularly cast articles such as engine cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, housings and other such articles, it is a particular problem of the mamufacturing process to remove from such articles various types of debris which are formed or collect therein during the manufacturing process and which may, if not removed, be detrimental to the operation or life of the assembly in which the machined article or component is ultimately incorporated. For example, casting and machining of engine blocks result in a relatively large amount of debris, including core sand, surface scale, machining chips and the like which adhere to the walls and collect in the various cavities and pockets within the engine block, with the result that they are sometimes quite difficult to remove in the manufacturing process. Particles of such debris may, however, if not removed during manufacturing, become loosened in service with the passage of coolant, lubricants and so forth through the engine, in which case such particles may interfere with proper operation of the engine or shorten its life.
In the past, it has been known especially in the case of the engine block castings in the weight range of from about 1,000 to 2,000 lbs. to rely upon a combination of mechanical cleaning and washing steps to remove debris from the machined block castings. It is also known in the art to clean castings and other articles by vibrating them on a shaking table or similar device in order to loosen and remove particles from the interior cavities thereof. However, in many cases such procedures have failed to completely remove debris from internal cavities of engine cylinder blocks and the like, particularly where such debris becomes packed into blind holes or recesses where it cannot be easily reached or dislodged by mechanical or ordinary vibration methods.